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EAST STROUDSBURG – East Stroudsburg University will put its 5-1 record on the line when it faces 8-1 Wayne State (Mich.) on the first night of the Porreco Cup at Gannon's Hammermill Center on Wednesday, Dec. 29 in Erie.

Gannon will take on Seton Hill in the second semifinal, with the winners meeting for the 37th Porreco Cup championship on Thursday at 8 p.m. The consolation game will be played at 6 p.m.

ESU, the preseason favorite in the PSAC East, and Wayne State, the preseason No. 3 pick in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) South, will meet for the first time in a match-up of one loss teams.

The Warriors have never faced a current member of the GLIAC, but played Gannon seven times when the Golden Knights were members of the conference before joining the PSAC. They are 18-1 in regular season non-conference games since the start of last year, and head coach Jeff Wilson enters the Porreco Cup with a career record of 130-97, three wins from tying his mentor Sal Mentesana for third in school history.

ESU has won three straight games since its only loss of the season, while Wayne State has won six straight since an 87-73 loss to Bellarmine (Ky.), which was ranked No. 4 in Division II at the time and is now the top-ranked team in the country. Both teams average more than 80 points per game but have done their scoring in different ways.

ESU has just two players averaging double figures, sophomore forward Duane Johnson (10.8 ppg, 6.5 rpg) and junior guard Russell Graham III (10.0 ppg, 5.7 apg), with six other players scoring between 7.0 and 10 points per game. Eight players averaged at least 6.9 points on last year's team which went 24-6 and played in the NCAA Division II Tournament.

Wayne State, off to its best start since 1969-70, is paced by two high-scoring guards in Bryan Smothers (18.3 ppg) and Mike Hollingsworth (16.3 ppg). Forward Jerry Oden, a first team All-GLIAC South preseason pick, is contributing 11.0 ppg. Smothers and center Ike Udanoh (7.8 ppg, 6.5 rpg) were named to the second team. Smothers has been named the GLIAC South Player of the Week twice this season and is averaging 5.7 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game.

ESU has made its living at the defensive end and on the backboards, ranking third in Division II in steals (12.8 per game), fourth in turnover margin (+8.0 per game) and 11th in rebounding margin (+10.7 per game). The offensive glass has been a particular strength, as the Warriors rank second in the PSAC with 18.0 offensive rebounds per game.

Senior forward Mike Tobin (9.7 ppg, 6.2 rpg), the top returning scorer and rebounder from last year's club, is second in the nation with 3.8 steals per game. The Warriors have forced at least 18 turnovers, have at least nine steals and have owned a positive rebounding margin in all six games this season.

Meanwhile, Wayne State has proven to be one of the toughest teams to turn over in Division II, committing just 11.2 turnovers per game, including seven its last time out in a 91-81 win over Tiffin. At the defensive end, Wayne State is forcing 16.7 turnovers per game.

Both teams rebound by committee – Wayne State has five players averaging at least 5.0 rebounds per game, while ESU has six players with at least 4.0 per game. Udanoh and Johnson both lead their teams with 6.5 rebounds per game.

In the other semifinal, Gannon enters with a 3-2 record, led by St. Bonaventure transfer Kelvin Agee (15.2 ppg, 6.4 rpg). Seton Hill is 4-5 with three guards – Kellen Holmes, Matt Miller and Chris Giles – all averaging better than 13 points per game.

ESU is 2-7 in the all-time series with Gannon but has won the last two meetings. The Warriors upset No. 4 Gannon, 52-49, on a three-pointer at the buzzer by Aaron Pinckney in 2008-09, and won 75-54 last season. ESU and Seton Hill have not met in men's basketball.